Effects of reducing nitrogen application and adding straw on N2O emission and soil nitrogen leaching of tomato in greenhouse

Excessive input of nitrogen(N) fertilizer and improper selection of fertilizer types in the greenhouse vegetable production process will lead to a large amount of N loss. In order to relieve the environmental pollution caused by N loss, a planting experiment was carried out in a solar greenhouse in Shouguang, Shandong, China, to investigate the effects of N-reducing fertilizer and straw application on greenhouse vegetable yield and soil N loss, and to explore the fate of N after fertilizer application using the 15N isotope tracing technique. The experiment was planted for two seasons from July 2017 to June 2018 with four treatments: control (CK), conventional fertilizer (CN), reduced N topdressing (SN), and reduced N topdressing + straw (SNS). The results indicated that N reduction fertilizer and straw application resulted in a 35.25%-35.49% reduction in total N2O emissions and 15.76%-41.77% reduction in mineral N leaching losses. 15N isotopes as tracers showed that the maximum abundance in N2O was reduced by 58.5% and 55.68% for SN and SNS, respectively, and cumulative N2O emissions were reduced by 80.44% and 81.67%, respectively, and mineral N leaching was reduced by 74.4% and 70.48%, respectively, after fertilization compared to CN treatment. There was no significant difference in tomato yield between the three fertilizer treatments in the two growing seasons. Therefore, in greenhouse vegetable production, the amount of N fertilizer was reduced by 40.7% and the addition of straw reduced N2O emissions and N leaching without affecting tomato yields.

Automated summary

Excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer in greenhouse vegetable production results in significant nitrogen loss, but using N-reducing fertilizer and applying straw can effectively reduce nitrogen loss and improve soil quality.